New Database Gives Food Flavonoid Details

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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews & storyID=2371455

 

New Database Gives Food Ingredient Details

 

Wed March 12, 2003 06:14 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wondering about the best source of quercetin to fight

your ragweed allergy? How about cyanidine or kaempferol? If so, the U.S.

Department of Agriculture published the definitive source on Wednesday.

 

The Internet Web site, listing the flavonoid content of foods ranging from beer

to blueberries, is at

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Flav/flav.html.

The names of the various flavonoids may be unfamiliar and difficult to

pronounce, but researchers believe they are important compounds in food and may

be part of the reason that eating fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of

heart disease and cancer.

Nutritionists say flavonoids act as antioxidants, stopping the cell damage

caused by charged particles called free radicals. This cell damage can lead to

cancer, heart disease and perhaps a range of other ills.

Different flavonoids may play a slightly different role in promoting health. For

example, some research suggests quercetin can limit the body's production of

histamine, which is the cause of allergic symptoms.

" We think they are beneficial, " said Johanna Dwyer, a professor of nutrition and

medicine at Tufts University in Boston, who helped put together the database.

Dwyer, who said it will mostly be of use to researchers, said the database is

comparable to one the USDA has posted for isoflavones, which are found in soy

products and which may be helpful in preventing heart disease.

The database shows that beer, for instance, contains virtually no flavonoids

while red wine, long touted for its healthful benefits, contains small amounts

of several of them.

 

 

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